Damaged, Not Damned
by Phantom Joy
Summary: (Rewrite of "The Heated Path") Following a tragedy in the Arc family, Jaune and his little sister Luna attempt to continue their lives under the new guardianship of their Aunt Peach. This year, Jaune begins his freshman term in Beacon while also trying to cope with the hardship in his family life and his PTSD.


_**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum**_

 **AN**

 **This is my first published story, so I've done my best to try and flesh out a proper narrative writing style. Jaune will be OoC in this and the story itself will take a more emotional stance on a lot of the issues occurring.**

 **Please feel free to leave reviews or find some way of PMing me if you wish to or are interested in speaking about anything.**

 **Enjoy**

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 **Prologue (Rewrite)**

Ocean blue eyes blinked blearily in response to the crackling sounds resonating around the house, the small blonde boy throwing the comforter off of himself as the sweltering heat got to him. The boy wracked his waking brain as eh tried to place the offending smell worming its way into his lungs, forcing a hacking cough to rip itself from his throat.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he came to the conclusion "Fir-!" the exclamation was cut short as he broke out into another coughing fit, bare feet slapping down onto the wooden floor and rushing him out of the room.

The blonde boy had stopped dead in his tracks as the amber glow of hungry flames reflected off his glossy eyes, a whimper escaping his prepubescent vocal cords and coming out as a high-pitched whine as the true sizer of the fire was revealed to him.

In a flash he found himself standing before the living room, his head swimming as he placed a hand to his cheek. He looked back and footprints were visible in the dust behind him, showing that he had in fact blacked out in the smoke-filled environment.

"Jau- **cough** -JAUNE!" the feminine scream tore through the smoky haze in his mind, his shoulders lifting sluggishly as he stumbled to the kitchen.

The sight that greeted him had his stomach twisting and churning, a gasp escaped him but achieved nothing more than throwing him into a coughing fit as his small form accumulated even more ash than it had previously.

His head swam as he looked on, the telltale smell of coppery blood betrayed his hopes and made him retch. Before him lay three of his sisters, chunks of skin and muscle missing over various points in their bodies.

Empty eyes-sockets stared at him from each one of them as he recoiled in horror, now pushing his way through the room with his eyes closed, he had to get out o-

"JAUNEEEE-EIIIIIIIIIIII" this scream peeked out into a screech, full of pain and fear as he heard splattering and sqlurching of… something. He charged toward the voice, the smoke obscuring his vision causing him to smash into more than one obstacle on the way.

As he turned the corner he bounced into something, something that caused the skin on his arms to bubble, a searing heat flowing through the area of contact.

The beast didn't seem to notice him, thus was the sheer size of it. It was nightmare fuel incarnate, composed of slabs of bone, molten rock gluing the entire thing together as the main skull feasted on his mother, her previous screams having come to a complete halt.

The headless form of his father lay in the corner, a bloodied and warped Crocea Mors lying beside him, the cauterized wound permeating an awful smell of burnt flesh into the room. A tiny gasp followed by Coughing finally forced him to rip his vision away from his mauled parents, and even as he did so the after-image stayed in complete focus within his mind.

Long blonde hair was what met his gaze, the curled-up form of his youngest sister Luna spasming in the corner, he reached out toward her only to cry out as a ferocious heat slammed into his face, causing a horrendous pain to flash up his cheek and through his eye.

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The blonde-haired boy bolted upright in bed, a gasp escaping him as sweat rolled down his face and tears stained his cheeks, the memory having dug up and entire army of festering wounds and emotions within his heart. Quickly his head snapped to the left and he eyed the bundle of covers and pillows across the room, his breath caught and his form froze as he waited for the telling rise and fall of a sleeping person.

He nearly fell off his mattress and scrambled over to it, pulling back the blankets and startling his sleeping little sister. Her curly blonde hair was messy and had a severe case of bedhead as she stared up at him with bleary eyes, their amber color reflecting brightly in what little light found its way into the room.

"Jaune…?" she asked with a tired yawn and a narrowed but curious gaze. Her voice squeaked when two strong arms wrapped around her in a desperate hug, the pale mass holding her shivering quite badly.

A sniffle escaped the usually composed hunter-in-training, now holding his only remaining family even closer than he had been, fearing what may happen if he let her out of his sight for even a moment.

Luna's worried gaze turned sympathetic and she returned the hug, running her fingers through the back of his shaggy hair and whispering little comforting and quiet shushes to her fearful big brother to try and calm him down.

They continued on like this for several minutes before she mustered the courage to ask him what was wrong, her eyes scanning the planked walls of their Aunt's home, the woman who had kindly taken them in after the accident, still caring for them even after five years.

"What happened Jaune…?" she asked softly, having waited until he stopped sniffling.

He turned his head away in response and shuddered, his grip tightening on her as he tried to shield his face with her shirt. "They… I saw them all Lulu… Broken and bloodied… I failed again…" the once squeaky voice of a scared twelve-year-old boy had grown deeper and more developed over the past five years, yet still conveyed his fear and issues quite clearly through its weakness and depressed tone, the weight of the entire incident still firmly resting on his shoulders in his mind.

The younger girl gently rubbed her older brother's back, using the practiced motions she had perfected over the past five years in helping her brother with his post-traumatic stress disorder. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and let her soft but calm voice filter into his panicked thoughts.

"It's okay Jaune, no one blames you, we're always welcomed here at Aunt Peach's house… You're safe in our room… All the fire detectors are on and ready, the walls of Tyrra stand tall as always, you're safe" She reciprocated his earlier squeeze as best she could with her shorter arms, letting him know that she was there for him and anything he needed she would do her best to fulfill.

His shaking seemed to stop slowly and his breathing was less ragged as he took in her careful words, looking up at the blinking smoke alarms and peach colored walls.

Jaune pulled back from the hug but didn't let go as he met his sister's amber eyes with now calmed but sad asymmetrical orbs. "…sorry..." his apology was muffled and he looked away from her, feeling ashamed at needing his baby sisters help over another nightmarish set of memories.

Luna frowned and rested her hand on his cheek while cupping his chin, she then turned his head so he met her soft gaze. "It's okay Jaune, I'm happy to help you after everything you've done for us. There's no need to feel sorry for reliving bad events, you have every right to feel scared of what happened. But t4hats why you've been training so much right? So you could keep us safe, keep me safe." Her words seemed wise beyond her years, seeming quite strange to come out of a twelve-year old's mouth, but that made them no less meaningful.

He nodded shyly at the sentiment she presented, he had acknowledged this a long time ago yet still fought himself over many things. More problems stemmed from the fact that he still felt the need to try and act tough around her, and in his mind, he needed to do it more so since she was growing up without a real family to raise her.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Hey Luna...?" he asked with a bit of hesitance, clenching his eyes shut in some childish sense that if he couldn't see her, he wouldn't be embarrassed.

She looked at him and hummed lightly in response "Yes Jaune?" her voice was soft and sleepy

"Would you mind if I slept in your bed tonight? Just since I'm leaving for Beacon tomorrow… I want to have a good night's rest so I don't freak out around all those new people." Jaune seemed more than slightly embarrassed, his cheeks turning red quickly, knowing she hadn't had to keep him company to sleep peacefully in years.

Though he seemed to have forgotten to take into account the times when he had his more in-depth episodes and would pass out while she calmed him down. This caused her to shake her head and giggle, now she was falling back into the bed and scooting over, holding the blanket up for him to get in.

When he hesitated, she responded playfully to ease his nerves "You know I don't mind, you big blonde dummy… besides… you make a good teddy bear…" she mumbled the last part before she blew a raspberry at him, letting him know in her own way that everything was okay and she didn't think any less of him for needing help or company.

Jaune released a sigh of relief and slid into the queen-sized bed, wrapping the blanket around them and lying on his back. He felt her cheek rest against his chest and he started to relax at that, knowing that even though he failed everyone else, he was at least able to save one.

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As Jaune's breathing became lighter and he fell asleep, she sat up and looked at his calm resting face.

She put her head in her hands and dragged them down her face, trying to deal with her worried and exasperated cocktail of emotions.

"I don't see how you're going to fair in beacon big-bro…" she sighed, brushing his hair out of his face with her fingers as she watched him squirm to get comfy. She eyed the scars on his hands, moving up to the larger scars, which trailed from his nose, across his cheek, down his neck, and past his collarbone.

She then traced the biggest one across his face, where it met his milky white and destroyed eye with the highest claw mark, she shuddered in fear at the memory of her big brother flying across the room and covering her with his own body, hiding her until help arrived.

That was five years ago, he lost his eye, his home, and most of his family that day. She may have lost almost as much, but she also gained something. She gained the focus of the strongest most caring person she had ever met, her big brother.


End file.
